I looked around my room, taking in the large four-poster king sized bed, the sofa and armchair settled near the floor to ceiling windows, the luxurious surroundings. None of that mattered to me. All I’d wanted was an opportunity to learn and challenge myself.
How was I going to do that with all the pressure I’d been under?
I turned back to my computer.
Something caught my eye.
A book. It was sitting at the corner of my computer desk, against the wall, next to a small collection of school memorabilia I was trying to grow with my time at the college.
The book wasLady Chatterley’s Loverby D.H. Lawrence.
Riot had given it to me. He’d shown up at my room, standing in the doorway. His hair had been tousled every which way. At the time, his expression had been unreadable to me, but looking back on it, I could tell he’d been nervous, probably wondering if I would accept his gift. Wondering if I would accept him.
Acceptance. All three of the boys had accepted me. Even Jaeson had accepted me in his way, even if he didn’t know how to relate to where I came from.
I thought it would help,I remembered Riot telling me in his low, raspy voice.
And it had. He had. He’d helped me in so many ways. So had Luka and Jaeson. They’d supported me, believed in me.
Was I really going to give up and disappoint them?
No.
No more of this.
All three of them had offered to help me. I knew that no matter what they were doing, they would all make the time for me if I asked for it.
Tomorrow I would show them every single one of these vile texts.
Tomorrow, I would ask for help and all four of us would work together to stop this.
Together, all four of us would find a way to put an end to this.
We support each other. We protect each other. I promise that I’m going to keep you safe. All of us will. No matter what.
The words were fresh in my mind. They helped stem the flow of tears, soothing my broken heart.
The three of us are more than happy to work to get to the bottom of this. Our girl is hurting. We’ll take care of you. It’s our turn right now.
I closed the laptop lid and hugged the book to my chest. With a silent thanks to Riot, I slid back into bed and pulled the covers up.
I stared at the ceiling, feeling exhaustion setting back in, but also some level of satisfaction.
“You have no idea,” I whispered. “You have no idea know what’s coming for you.”
And then I slept.
